Church Basement Ladies

Church Basement Ladies
Church Basement Ladies Logo
MusicDrew Jansen
LyricsDrew Jansen
BookJim Stowell
Jessica Zuehlke
BasisGrowing Up Lutheran by Janet Letnes Martin & Suzann Nelson
ProductionsOriginal musical
2005 Plymouth, Minnesota
2009 West Coast Premiere
2025 Plymouth Revival
Sequels
2008 A Second Helping
2009 Away in the Basement
2011 A Mighty Fortress is Our Basement
2013 The Last (Potluck) Supper
2016 Rise Up, O Men
2018 You Smell Barn
2019 Hark! The Basement Ladies Sing
2022 Plowin' Thru

Church Basement Ladies is a musical theatre series, based on a musical with book by Jim Stowell and Jessica Zuehlke,[1] music and lyrics by Drew Jansen. The series surrounds a group of women that work in their local church basement cooking meals for religious events and functions.

The original production and subsequent entries in the series are based on the book Growing Up Lutheran by Janet Letnes Martin and Suzann Nelson, published in 1997. In addition to Growing Up Lutheran, Martin and Nelson, under the name of "Those Lutheran Ladies", have written other works, including Growing Up Rural, published in 2017.[2]

A revival of the original musical premiered at The Plymouth Playhouse in Plymouth, Minnesota on July 10, 2025.[3]

Production history

Produced by Troupe America Inc., Curt Wollan, Executive Producer, the first six musicals in the series opened at the Plymouth Playhouse in Plymouth, Minnesota. Installments 7, 8 and 9 opened at the Ames Center in Burnsville, Minnesota.

In addition to touring nationally, the nine musicals have been licensed in all contiguous 48 states and Canada. More than four million audience members have attended the musical and its sequels. On November 18, 2016, the company celebrated its 3000th performance at the Plymouth Playhouse. Original Cast Recordings are available for Church Basement Ladies 1 through 7.

Synopsis

Church Basement Ladies (CBL) is a musical comedy series following the members of a Midwestern church and their relationships as they organize food and solve the problems of their rural Minnesotan town. The setting involves many characters of American-Nordic diaspora, with each of the titular ladies married to a man of Norwegian heritage.

Among those prolific in the church are Vivian Snustad, the eldest Basement Lady and widower, Karin Engleson, mother and renowned cook, Mavis Gilmerson, a farmer's wife, Beverly Signe Engleson, Karin's daughter, and Pastor E.L. Gunderson, the leader of the church and friend to the Ladies.

The series and its entries were non-chronically-produced, though rightsholder and production company In The Basement Productions includes an in-universe chronological timeline on their website.[4]

Plot

Act 1

Christmas Dinner
Willie's Funeral

Act 2

Hawaiian Easter Dinner
Wedding

Cast

Original

  • Mrs. Lars Snustad (Vivian) - Janet Paone
  • Mrs. Gilmer Gilmerson (Mavis) - Greta Grosch
  • Mrs. Elroy Engleson (Karin) - Dorian Chalmers
  • Signe Engleson (Karin's Daughter) - Ruthie Baker
  • Pastor E. L. Gunderson - Tim Drake
  • Church Organist - Kyle Nelson

The show's 2009 national tour featured William Christopher as Pastor Gunderson.[5]

West Coast Premiere

  • Mrs. Lars Snustad (Vivian) - Cheryl Morrin
  • Mrs. Gilmer Gilmerson (Mavis) - Sherri L. Jones
  • Mrs. Elroy Engleson (Karin) - Sheri Shepard
  • Signe Engleson (Karin's Daughter) - Christen Dugger
  • Pastor E. L. Gunderson - Howard Wilson

Sequel Original Cast(s)

  • Mrs. Lars Snustad (Vivian) - Janet Paone (Sequel 2 and 4 through 9) Roberta Mancina (Sequel 3)
  • Mrs. Gilmer Gilmerson (Mavis) - Greta Grosch (Sequel 2 through 9)
  • Mrs. Elroy Engleson (Karin) - Dorian Chalmers (Sequel 2 through 9)
  • Pastor E. L. Gunderson - Tim Drake (Sequel 2 through 8) Greg Eiden (Sequel 9)
  • Beverly Signe Engleson - Tara Borman (Sequel 2 through 5 and 9) Bethany McCade (Sequel 7)
  • Other original cast members: Peter Colburn (Sequel 6 and 7), Jeff March (Sequel 6), Michael Lee (Sequel 8)

Songs

Sequels

The original production spawned a series of subsequent prequel and sequel musicals, with a total of eight as of 2025.[4][a]

  • A Second Helping: The Church Basement Ladies Sequel, 1969. (Music and lyrics by Dennis Curley and Drew Jansen; book by Greta Grosch.) Opened at the Plymouth Playhouse in Plymouth, Minnesota in March 2008, and at the New Theater in Overland Park, Kansas, in late summer 2009. The Kansas production featured Barry Williams as Pastor Gunderson.
  • Away in the Basement: A Church Basement Ladies Christmas, 1959. (Music and lyrics by Drew Jansen; book by Greta Grosch.) Opened at the Plymouth Playhouse in November 2009.
  • The Church Basement Ladies in: "A Mighty Fortress Is Our Basement", 1960. (Music and lyrics by Drew Jansen; book by Greta Grosch.) Opened at the Plymouth Playhouse in August 2011.
  • The Church Basement Ladies in: "The Last (Potluck) Supper", 1979. (Music and lyrics by Drew Jansen; book by Greta Grosch.) Opened at the Plymouth Playhouse in August 2013.
  • The Church Basement Ladies in: "Rise Up, O Men", 1964. (Music and lyrics by Dennis Curley; additional lyrics by Greta Grosch; book by Greta Grosch; additional material by Graydon Royce.) Opened at the Plymouth Playhouse in August 2016.
  • The Church Basement Ladies in: "You Smell Barn", year not specified, 1950s. (Music by Dennis Curley; lyrics by Dennis Curley and Greta Grosch; book by Greta Grosch.) Opened at the Ames Center in Burnsville, Minnesota on September 12, 2018.
  • The Church Basement Ladies in: "Hark! The Basement Ladies Sing", 1960. (Music and lyrics by Michael Pearce Donley; book by Greta Grosch) Opened at the Ames Center on November 1, 2019
  • The Church Basement Ladies in: "Plowin' Thru", 1975. (Music and lyrics by Dennis Curley; book by Greta Grosch) Opened at the Ames Center on September 7, 2022.

Notes

  1. ^ The list provided is sorted chronologically by release date, additionally noting, after the title of the sequel, the year the story takes place in-universe.

References

  1. ^ "Cast | Church Basement Ladies". plymouthcbl.com. 22 October 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  2. ^ "History of the shows". In The Basement Productions. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  3. ^ "Home". 4 Community Theatre. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  4. ^ a b "CBL Character Timeline". In The Basement Productions. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  5. ^ "Church Basement Ladies 2009–2010 tour". churchbasementladiesonstage.com. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
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